Some Kind of Game? Part 1

I stood at the starting line with my two teammates, Rodney and Banker. Rodney, a short kid with dark hair, grinned at me. Despite his short legs, he ran faster than all three of us, and was our runner. Banker, the big guy, was our guard. I play the catcher.

I looked over at the other end of the starting line to see our opponents. A tall girl by the name of Rose played both the catcher and the runner. Her two teammates were generic looking guys and both played guard.

“They have a pretty aggressive team guys, be careful all right?” I told my partners.

The rhythmic whir of the helicopter rotors flew overhead us. The hovering helicopter carried a driver, an announcer, and a camera man. “On your mark!” the announcer shouted into his microphone. “Get set, go!”

My legs tightened, and I started. All six of us took off down the gray path, the sound of crunchy gravel beneath our feet. We all ran at the same, somewhat fast pace. I looked over at Rose and her team. Her face looked intently ahead, focused on her goal. I looked up ahead, and saw the path split into several roads into a forest filled with tall pine trees.

Rose suddenly gave a spurt of energy, and zoomed ahead the rest of us. I took that as my cue, and sprinted after her. Rodney, Banker, and Rose’s two guards trailed behinds us. Rose took a left turn into the forest, and I followed right after. As I entered the forest, I heard the hum of the first star. Excited, I picked up my pace, and ran past Rose. A pine tree stood in front of my way, and I jumped towards the tree, and climbed to the top within a few seconds. A small white ball hovered in the branches of a tall pine tree high up in the air. The ball, the star, gave off a soft white glow and wobbled around in a circular path.

I jumped from my tree to the next tree, and hugged its trunk. The tree swayed, and its pine leaves scratched my arms. I climbed to the top of this tree, and jumped to the next, slowly gaining progress towards the first star.

The tree behind me shook. I turned around to see Rose spring out of the tree. I quickly leaped from tree to tree, and the sound of rustling leaves as Rose landed followed close behind. Finally, I made it to the tree containing the glowing star. The star gave a high pitched beep and spiraled down the tall pine tree’s branches. I ventured afterwards, landing from branch to branch. Rose crashed into to me, and with a horrendous crack, the branch shattered beneath our feet.

My insides tickled (or whatever that feeling is when you fall) as I fell several feet. I grabbed a branch with my right hand, and Rose plummeted down behind me. She shakily landed on a large branch, and after a moments rest, continued after the star.

I swung from the branch towards the tree trunk, and planted my feet and hands against the hard trunk. I slid down the trunk, the wind zoomed past my ears, and the hard, dry bark scraped against my hand. The scenery around me blurred, and I think I saw Rose fly past me. The ground loomed closer, and my stomach lurched. But there! The star hovered far off at the edge of the tree, and seemed to be seeking for shelter elsewhere. I pushed off against the tree trunk with my feet, and flew momentarily through the air, and grasped the spherical star. I landed on the ground, the dirt floor sending a shock through my feet, and I rolled to absorb the impact. The star no longer moved about, but still glowed an ambient white, and sent warmth through my hand.

Ahead, I saw Rodney and Banker running towards me. “Catch!” I shouted and threw the star through the cold air. One of Rose’s guard leaped up and tried to intercept, but Banker knocked him to the ground, and both of them landed with a muffled thump in the dirt. Rodney caught the pale star, and ran off at an incredible speed towards the goal.

I laughed, and pumped my hands in the air. “Yesss!” No one could catch up to Rodney. I looked around, and saw Banker and Rose’s guards wrestling, but Rose herself disappeared. I stopped my victory taunt and searched for the second star.